Today, Anitta is in good health. However, the Brazilian singer has faced her fair share of ups and downs during her rise to fame.
In a exclusive interview with TODAY.com for May’s digital cover, the 31-year-old opened up about a health scare in 2022 that landed her in the hospital for months. At one point, she was unable to walk and thought she was going to die as she battled a mysterious illness.
Larissa de Macedo Machado, known by her stage name “Anitta,” has taken the world by storm with her catchy music and vibrant personality. She recently released her sixth studio album, “Funk Generation,” and her first dedicated entirely to Brazilian funk music.
The songs are fun and uplifting, but the story behind the record is far more complex. The idea for her latest album came to Anitta in, of all places, a hospital bed.
“I was super, super unhealthy,” Anitta told TODAY in a segment aired Friday, May 31. The singer contracted COVID-19 in 2022, and “right after … I got these crazy symptoms,” she said.
Toward the end of 2022, after touring across Europe, the “Evolver” singer became severely ill and was rushed to the hospital. She remained hospitalized for the next five months while doctors tried figure out what was wrong.
During her hospital stay, the singer became so incapacitated that she thought she “was going to die,” she told TODAY.com.
“I got really sick and was so physically ill I couldn’t work, and I hadn’t stopped working in so many years,” she said. “It was a big wake up call that I physically couldn’t do many things that I loved doing because of my health. I had to take time to take care of myself.”
After ruling out lung problems, cancer and a slew of other health problems, doctors had no answers or diagnosis for the singer.
During her hospital stay, Anitta said she started looking back at her life and reflecting on her priorities. “I just wasted so much time of my life trying to reach goals, and please people and be a success,” she said. Ultimately, the health scare “changed (her) whole mentality, and that’s why I made this album.”
“I made (‘Funk Generation’) in the hospital … I was like, I want an album like this — in case I die I’m going to leave an album that I’m proud of,” she said.
“I’m really proud of this album, and I didn’t do it thinking about streams and algorithms and numbers. I thought just about having fun and loving what I did,” the singer explained.
It’s not the first time Anitta has opened up about her health. In a series of tweets posted in July 2022, the singer revealed that she was diagnosed with endometriosis after nine years of suffering and misdiagnoses.
“Seek more than one doctor, more than one opinion. If one doesn’t solve it… go to another until it solves it. It’s not normal for us to live with this pain like this forever,” the singer wrote.
“Endometriosis is very common among women. It has several side effects, in each body differently. They can extend into the bladder and cause excruciating pain when urinating. There are several treatments. Mine will have to be surgery,” she added.
In a tweet posted on July 19, 2022, Anitta said that she was at the hospital preparing to undergo surgery for her endometriosis, posting a photo of herself from a hospital bed.
As for her most recent health scare and hospitalization, Anitta said she never received a diagnosis or explanation for her illness. However, she did recover and said that today she is back in good health, both physically and mentally.
Anitta credits her faith with helping her heal. “After my health issues, I started taking better care of my spirituality. I follow Yoruba religion, and I had to jump into that. I dove into myself, and everything that makes me feel peace,” she said.
First appeared on www.today.com